Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring on his return from injury Image source, Reuters
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Cristiano Ronaldo moved to the Middle East in December 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his return from a month-long injury absence to help Al-Nassr defeat bottom side Al-Najma in the Saudi Pro League.

The 41-year-old Portugal forward struck twice in the second half to reach 23 goals in as many league games for his club this season.

Ronaldo sustained a hamstring injury in late February and travelled to Spain for treatment last month after the issue was found to be more serious than first thought.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star missed two league games and Portugal's international friendlies against Mexico and the United States.

Al-Najma took a surprise lead, despite managing to win only once in 27 league games.

But former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Abdullah Al Hamdan scored in first-half stoppage time to give Al-Nassr a half-time lead.

Ronaldo converted a 56th-minute penalty to restore his side's lead after the visitors equalised, before he and Mane both scored their second goals to seal victory.

A 13th consecutive league win for Al-Nassr extended their lead at the top of the table to six points over second-placed Al-Hilal, who play Al-Taawoun on Saturday.

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